Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling slipped an unexpected pitch by ABC host Charlie Gibson yesterday morning: a presidential endorsement.
"And make sure you tell everybody to vote, and vote Bush next week."
Here's the Good Morning America video via The Daily Recycler.
Now he's hitting the campaign trail in New Hampshire with President Bush.
Red Sox pitching ace Curt Schilling will accompany President George W. Bush to his campaign stops in Manchester and Portsmouth on Friday.Schilling urged viewers to vote for Bush on ABC’s “Good Morning America” program yesterday morning. The Bush campaign then quickly invited him to join the President in his final campaign visit to the Granite State, sources said. Schilling gladly accepted.
It is unclear if Schilling will be wearing his now-legendary bloody sock, which came to symbolize the Red Sox’ dramatic run to their first World Series title in 86 years. But don’t be surprised if he waves it to the crowd, or if the crowd waves mock bloody socks at him in appreciation of his courageous pitching performances during the playoffs and World Series.
In case you didn't notice at the time, in 2001 Schilling wrote a moving Open Letter following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Excerpt:
To those families that lost loved ones in the NYPD and in the FDNY, I can only offer our sincerest thank you. Please know that athletes in this country look to your husbands and wives as they may have looked at the men of our profession when they were young, as heroes, as idols, for they are everything every man should strive to be in life and they died in a way reserved only for those who would make the ultimate sacrifice for this nation, and for the freedom we oftentimes take for granted.Words cannot heal your wounds, not even time will heal the wounds for those who have suffered loss this week. But other than money and blood, which I hope the players in MLB will be giving of both, it is all we have to offer.
We will step on the fields of Major League Baseball on Monday night, but please know that we are not doing this as an aversion to forget what happened on Tuesday. Nothing will ever make us forget that day. But we are doing so because it is our job, and I honestly feel that if you do have a chance to catch a few minutes of a game, and see every sports fan in every stadium stand for that initial moment of silence, and understand when we do so that we do so for you, and for your families. And in the seventh-inning stretch when this nation sings God Bless America, we do so because we can, because in this country men and woman have died so that we can continue on as a free nation, and we will be thinking of you then also.
Gutsy AND classy.
UPDATE: Schilling backed out of the campaign appearances and downplayed his ABC endorsement. Not so gutsy? Hmm, turns out Red Sox executives are MAJOR contributors to the Democrats. Maybe he got an offer he could not refuse.
Posted by Alan at October 28, 2004 12:55 PM